Corey Holcomb swears he got sucker punched by a female comedian who's hell-bent on taking him down, physically and financially ... so he's seeking court-ordered protection.

Corey says the comic-on-comic beef started back in December outside the Hollywood Improv ... when Cristina Payne put hands on him as his back was turned to her. In the docs, filed Monday in L.A. Superior Court, Corey also claims she hurled a bunch of insults and obscenities worthy of a celebrity roast.

Among the comments Cristina allegedly made -- "Your mother is a bitch," and "Your d*** ain't s***. That's why your wrist got broke." For the record, Corey says his wrist injury was from skateboarding ... not masturbation.

Anyhow, CH claims Cristina's BF also jumped into the fray to, as Corey put it, "play hero."

Now, in his request for a restraining order against Cristina, Corey also claims she provided TMZ with a video that only shows part of their altercation ... excluding her aggression. While it's true TMZ broke the story about Cristina's allegation Corey struck her that night, we were never given, nor did we post, a video of their fight.

Clearly, they have wildly different views of what went down. A judge denied Corey's request for an immediate TRO, but scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, when they'll both be able to share their versions ... and the judge will decide which comedian gets the last laugh.